One Step Ahead

You are always one step ahead

Putting the narrative into my story

Showing me the way to go

Even when I am now aware

Before I was born

You had everything planned

You opened up a couple’s heart

To welcome me into their lives

During times of difficulty

You were always there by my side

Knowing that all would be ok

Because you already knew I would survive

When exam results weren’t expected

I was upset and scared

But you had it all planned

As you took me out of my safe haven

You knew what you were doing

As I grew to be myself

In another city in another country

Forcing me to learn to live on my own

From there you helped me move

To the big smoke

Where heartache lay before me

But you were always there

A path always laid out for me

When jobs finished

Another one always appeared

Because you had gone before me

Then I was taken out of my comfort zone

When I moved to another continent

But it was there that I learned

How to embrace the different

It wasn’t a coincidence

That I moved back home

Because you knew what would happen

And that I would need family support

You are always one step ahead

When I was in need of a friend

You always had a plan

And someone was always there

When I needed a place of worship

You put me in the right place

No matter what country I was in

There was always a place for me

So now why do I have fears?

Because there really is no need

As you are always one step ahead

As the author of my story

Jo Anne Kennedy

December 2018

Done

I am done

Fed up with the backlash

And judgemental comments

You have no idea

What it’s like to live like this

Every day being a struggle

You say you know pain

And that you have to hide it

As life goes on

Yes life does go on

But sometimes you need to give in

And rest your weary body

You sound like a martyr

Saying that’s not possible for you

And that work needs to be done

But work can wait

You are not that important

Though you think you are

You may find it hard to believe

But life can function without you

No one is that special

Yes there may have been a time

Where I couldn’t function without you

But I’ve now seen the light

I am capable and strong

And can do life on my own

Without you holding my hand

It’s time to let go

I say for the millionth t time

But this time it is real

Let’s see how it goes

Because every time I walk away

You always come running

Jo Anne Kennedy

December 2018

Roam Free

You may be guilty

But I do not condemn

You are busted in two

But I believe in you

You are broken in pieces

But you are beloved

I will catch you

And will set you free

If you are hiding something

I give you pardon

You are not to feel judged

As I have set you free

Do not be bound to anything

As I have broken the chains

That has held you, prisoner,

And now you can roam free

Jo Anne Kennedy

Walk on Water

You walked on water

You calm the storm

You pour mercy out like rain

And give us underserved grace

You bring peace to our brokenness

And you reach out to us in love

And in a whispering voice

You promise to make all things new

Jo Anne Kennedy

December 2018

Imperfection

When you choose your friends

You didn’t pick the perfect

You looked out for the misfits

You saw the brokenness

Yet you still believed

In their total imperfection

You knew through the tears

That they would see the joy

And be a blessing to those around

You knew that in the brokenness

They could see far beyond

The thing that clouds their vision

You knew that in their imperfection

Beauty shone out through them

To bring joy to those around them

Jo Anne Kennedy

December 2018

Doubt

I doubt myself

And lay blame

On things around me

I have no strength

To try and fight

Or gain the ability to stand

But yet I forget

It’s not me who can

That is your job

You believe in me

When I can’t see the truth

That it is you and not me

It is you who gives me strength

To get by each day

And live the way you intended

Jo Anne Kennedy

December 2018

My Value

My union with you

Is the starting point

Of the rest of my life

As I believe in you

I am seen by your Father

Exactly as He sees you

I am who you are

I am who He is

I am crucified with you

I am unified with you

I am identified with you

That is the full story

I am not the mistakes I have made

I am the righteousness that He has made

In His eyes, I belong to Him

I am not the wrongs I have done

I am the faultlessness that He has been

In His eyes, I belong to Him

I am not the sins I have chosen

I am chosen by the beloved

Regardless of the choices, I have made

In Him, I am chosen and accepted

I am justified and anointed

I am saved and forgiven

I am redeemed and complete

I am free and I am Christ’s friend

I am God’s child and the Spirits home

My value is not defined by what I’ve done

Or what I have said

Or even who I am friends with

My value is defined by the One

Who said it is finished

And who achieved it all

Jo Anne Kennedy

December 2018

Grace Weeps

Grace weeps through the broken places

And weeps into the lowest places

Grace is a balm for all wounds

And brings us the truest form of healing

Grace gives us all that we don't ask for
And gives us what is needed
It moves us to become what we always wanted
But hardly by the way we wanted

Grace is what holds us together

When everything is falling apart

But Grace is what whispers to us

That everything will be alright

Jo Anne Kennedy

December 2018

By Your Grace

By your grace

I don’t need to measure up

To anyone else

As for you, I am good enough

For you, I am worthy enough

And I am loved more than enough

Your grace embraces me

There is no need to prove anything

When I fall down a hide

I am caught by your grace

Grace waits in the broken places

It waits at the bottom of things

When I am in the darkest place

By your Grace, I am loved

As Grace comes and wraps me

In the best light which is you

Jo Anne Kennedy

December 2018

I say, You Say

I say I am broken

But you say that with you,

I am unbreakable

I say I am unloved

But you say for you,

I am beloved

I say I am a failure

But you say that with you,

I can accomplish anything

I say I will always be alone

But you say that,

With you, I will never be alone

I say that I can’t

But you say that with you

I can do anything

I say it is not possible

But you say that with you

All things are possible

Jo Anne Kennedy

December 2018